Speaker
Description
The purpose of this talk is to introduce a dynamical model for the time evolution of buyers populations in over-the-counter (OTC) wholesale fresh product markets and to the present the results of its mathematical analysis. The dynamics is governed by immediate reactions of buyers and sellers to changes in basic indicators. Buyers are influenced by some degree of loyalty to their regular suppliers. Yet, at times, they also prospect for better offers. On the other hand, sellers primarily aim at maximising their profit. Yet, they can be also prone to improving their competitiveness in case of clientele deficit.
The analysis reveals that the dynamics spontaneously self-regulates in time and generates (transient) oscillatory behaviours that prevent any seller to dominate permanently its competitors (and to be permanently dominated). Long-term behaviours are also investigated, with focus on asymptotic convergence to equilibrium. In particular, in the simplest case of 2 competing sellers, a normal-form-like analysis in the neighbourhood of an elliptic fixed point proves that such convergence holds under suitable, yet economically meaningful, assumptions on the model’s characteristics.